Hilda Taba (1902–1967)

Curriculum theorist, curriculum

reformer, and teacher educator,
Hilda Taba contributed to the
theoretical and pedagogical
foundations of concept
development and critical thinking
in social studies curriculum and helped to lay the foundations of education
for diverse student populations.

CONCEPTS ABOUT TABA'S GRASS ROOT MODEL

 She advocated that teachers take an inductive approach to curriculum development which
meant starting with the specifics and building toward a general design, rather than the
traditional deductive approach
 it should be the teachers who should design the curriculum rather than the higher authorities
 Taba's model begins with teachers developing specific units which leads to more generalized
information about the curriculum. (inductive approach aka "grass roots")
 Organize the content upon carefully considering the learners experiences and background.
 This model can be applied to many different curricula and can be used in different settings and
levels of education. Teaching and learning are both represented in her model. Therefore, if the
teachers are writing the learning units and it follows an inductive process, the curriculum model
followed is Taba.
 Taba believed that there has to be a definite order in creating a curriculum.
 The main concept of this approach to curriculum development is that teachers must be involved
in the development of the curriculum.

TABA -MODEL OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Seven Major Steps- Teachers would have Major Input

Step 1: Diagnose of needs:

The teacher (curriculum designer) starts the process by identifying the needs of the students for whom
the curriculum is to be designed.
Step 2: Formulation of objectives:

After the teacher has identified needs that require attention, he specifies objectives to be accomplished.

Step 3: Selection of content:

The objectives selected or created suggest the subject matter or content of the curriculum. Objectives
and content should be match.

Step 4: Organization of content:

A teacher cannot just select the content, but must organize in some type of sequence, taking learner
maturity into consideration, learners academic achievements and their interests.

Step 5: Selection of learning experience:

Content must be presented to students and they must engage the content. Here, the teacher selects
instructional methods that will involve the students with the content.

Step 6: Organization of learning experience:

As content must be sequenced and organized; the learning activities, too.

Step 7: Evaluation and means of evaluation:

The curriculum planner must determine just what objectives have been accomplished. Evaluation
procedures need to be considered by the teacher and students.